Written by PETA
Not to be outdone by PETA India, the folks over at PETA Asia-Pacific have certainly been busy lately—in the last week, they've had three tremendously successful demos!
First up, we have three activists in Seoul, Korea, who lay outside a fur store in "bloody" fur coats, caught in a steel-jaw trap. Calling attention to the cruel methods used to trap wild animals for fur, their message read: "Animals Suffer in Traps. This Is Fur."
A few days later in China, two of PETA Asia-Pacific's sexy Lettuce Ladies asked passersby in Guangzhou to "Turn Over a New Leaf—Go Vegetarian." As you can see from the pics below, they got a lot of attention! Not bad for the first PETA Asia-Pacific demo in China in five years, don't you think?
Most recently, Santa spread the joy of soy in Manila and Hong Kong, courtesy of PETA Asia-Pacific. In light of the much-reported melamine-tainted–milk scandal, which has killed at least four babies and sickened 53,000 others, jolly old Saint Nick is working with PETA Asia-Pacific to inform milk-drinkers that cow's milk is also loaded with cholesterol, fat, and other contaminants, including cow's blood and pus, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Over time, these can be just as dangerous as melamine.
Kudos to our friends at PETA Asia-Pacific for the string of amazing demos. We can't wait to see what they'll do next!
Written by Amanda Schinke
In 2007, PETA received a call from a whistleblower who tipped us off to a Cleveland lab, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), that performed a fatal brain surgery on a dog for a useless medical-device sales demonstration.
Fast forward to 2008. PETA has received yet another tip from a whistleblower because of yet another alleged unnecessary dog death at the CCF—and this time it appears to be a violation of federal law.
The whistleblower alleges that a healthy dog—who had undergone an experimental transplant in which a heart was inserted into her neck—was killed after surgeons discovered that her airway was blocked by hay. Sadly, the whistleblower says that the dog was knowingly allowed to eat the dangerous hay from the pens of other animals while roaming around the laboratory and disturbing other animals who were recuperating from painful surgeries. I'm pretty sure that the surgeons needed that extra heart, not the dog…
PETA has filed a complaint against the facility with the USDA, and we are asking for an immediate investigation into alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The potential violations include failure to ensure proper nutrition for dogs (at least one was apparently allowed to eat hay) and failure to ensure adequate veterinary care for animals used in experiments, just to name a couple.
Many Cleveland residents, especially those who frequent the Dawg Pound, would be horrified to know that a lab in their city might be guilty of repeatedly killing healthy dogs who are used in useless experiments. The CCF needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for its apparent disregard for animal welfare, and we hope that the USDA will do just that.
If you want to help, please politely contact the CCF using the information below and ask that it conduct a full and thorough investigation of this matter and take all appropriate corrective actions.
Please send polite comments to:
Paul E. DiCorleto, Ph.D., ChairLerner Research InstituteCleveland ClinicMailstop NB219500 Euclid Ave.Cleveland, OH 44195216-444-5849dicorlp@ccf.org
Sad news—House Peters Jr., the man we all know and love as Mr. Clean, passed away yesterday at the respectable age of 92.
I pretty much love the character of Mr. Clean. In a world of cleaning-product commercials featuring only women, Mr. Clean's gender-stereotype–defying presence was always refreshing. (Plus, he had an earring, which is cool—and pretty progressive for the 1950s, when the character premiered!)
What I don't love, though, is the company responsible for the product Mr. Clean—Proctor & Gamble (P&G), the infamous maker of animal-tested Iams! PETA's problem with P&G goes back pretty far—far enough, in fact, for us to have parodied Mr. Clean's image on a 1998 protest door hanger.
But that wasn't enough to convince P&G to stop abusing animals in the name of "research." While P&G has developed non-animal testing methods and worked to end much of its outdated testing program, even today, eight years later, P&G–owned Iams continues to keep up to 700 dogs and cats locked inside hidden laboratories.
So as we say goodbye to Mr. Clean, we urge you to honor his memory by, say, wearing white T-shirts and gold earrings—not by purchasing Iams.
For a list of dog and cat food brands that are not tested on animals, click here.
Does anyone remember our sexy "Go Veg, Texas" campaign? Of course you do! Well, this time around, we're traveling a bit south of the border and asking Mexico to do the same thing (minus the bikini).
If you haven't yet heard, Mexico has recently started the "Vamos por un millón de kilos'' campaign to encourage all residents to lose weight. Well, we know a thing or two about lookin' fine and stayin' slim without all the grease and cruelty that meat-based diets offer. Check out our letter to President Calderón and let us know what you think:
His Excellency Felipe CalderónPresident of the Republic of Mexico1 page via fax Dear President Calderón: On behalf of PETA, an international animal rights organization with more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, I applaud your administration's "Vamos por un millón de kilos" campaign. May we add that the best way to help your citizens lose weight while improving their health would be to encourage them to choose a vegetarian diet? As you might know, consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products is linked to the major killers in the U.S. and Mexico—heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and strokes.Animal flesh, milk, and cheese are packed with fat, calories, and cholesterol. It's little wonder that as Mexicans move away from a traditional Mexican diet high in healthy vegetables, grains, fruit, and beans and toward the typical U.S. diet, which is laden with fatty animal flesh and devoid of fiber, they are also following their neighbors to the north in packing on the pounds and becoming sick and prematurely incapacitated. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vegetarians are far less likely to be overweight than meat-eaters and far more likely to be in better overall health. They live longer and die less painful deaths. The American Dietetic Association—the largest group of nutrition professionals in the U.S.—reviewed hundreds of studies and concluded that vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer than people who eat meat. A healthy vegetarian diet provides all the nutrients that we need to thrive—without the saturated animal fats and cholesterol found in meat that cause weight gain and clogged arteries. In addition, every vegetarian saves hundreds of animals from the horrible cruelty of the meat industry, such as mutilation without any painkillers, intensive confinement, and violent slaughter. To help kick off the "Go Vegetarian, Mexico" campaign, two of PETA's beautiful Lettuce Ladies would like to join you for an event at the National Palace to hand out delicious vegetarian fare—like tasty faux-beef tacos and soy-cheese and mock-chicken quesadillas—along with copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." (The kit can be viewed online at SeaVegetariano.com.) Please let me know when you would like to schedule this exciting event. Thank you for your consideration.Very truly yours, Ingrid E. NewkirkPresident
Written by Christine Doré
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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